May 23, 2011

Strength for this Monday

i'm about to go out on a limb and try to give an accurate portrayel of Rebuild Tuscaloosa at this point in time.

at our meeting this morning we all sat around with bags under our eyes while drinking cups of coffee and discussing the overwhelming to-do list that needs to be accomplished.

On Friday it will mark the one month anniversary of the tornado that ripped up our city, and it will mark a month of work, meetings, frustration, failure, disorganization, encouragement, laughter, tears, and a never ending roller coaster of emotions. Also a never ending list of work to be done, but an overwhelming feeling of inability to be productive. Where do we start? What do we do now? What is our goal? Where is our direction coming from? When do we get work orders? When is that next meeting? What do we do with these calls for help? How much can we give of ourselves? How do we organize this entire thing?

I don't want anyone to think that Rebuild Tuscaloosa is a perfect, well-oiled machine. We aren't. We are a brand new machine that is squeaky, needs development, and also needs its batteries recharged. But I can say that Rebuild Tuscaloosa is a group of sinners who are trusting in the grace and power of our Savior to work through us and recover our city.

All that to say - we need prayer. Now more than ever. The initial excitement and first response organizations are slowly winding down, and we are slowly seeing the huge monster of destruction and frustration that will be fighting us for the next few months…and probably for the next few years. Pray for strength, for courage, for joy, for excitement, for rest. Pray that we will be filled with Christ in a whole new way, in a way that keeps us physically and emotional capable to work hard on the task in front of us.